tonight, the new and staggering numbers just in. nearly 2,000 deaths in the u.s. in just the last 24 hours. more than 14,000 dead in the u.s. the president speaking moments ago. new york reporting its deadliest day. 779 deaths in 24 hours. tonight, the difficult images inside a new york city hospital. recovery rooms turned into icus. you will see the moment, doctors making difficult calls to loved ones waiting for news. we go inside the cathedral of st. john the divine. during holy week, it's now a makeshift hospital. and the american workers risking their lives. tonight in new york city, at least 41 transit workers dying. a communications specialist setting up lines at a hospital dying days later on his twin daughters' 10th birthday.

also tonight, growing hot spots from washington, d.c., to baltimore, philly, detroit, and chicago. florida turning a convention center in miami into a field hospital. and the new model predicting the peak in america hitting in about four days. and the new projections tonight on the number of deaths possible in the u.s. tonight, with more than 10 million americans out of work, families lining up for unemployment benefits and to get food. and again, we go inside the data, showing minorities hit hardest by the outbreak. abc news reporting intelligence officials warning the trump administration as far back as late november that coronavirus could be a cataclysmic event. that information ending up in the president's daily briefing, even as he repeatedly said the virus came out of nowhere. the remarkable images from wuhan, now reopened. but the new restrictions. what it could indicate on america, on the other side of this.

and news on british prime minister boris johnson. here at home, bernie sanders out of the race. joe biden will be the democratic nominee. and news from biden on choosing his running mate. and we remember a musician lost to coronavirus, who words, whose lyrics, seem to fit right about now. good evening. it's great to have you with us this wednesday night. and the numbers are not any easier to share. america's death toll surpassing 14,000. the deadliest 24 hours yet. in new york, at least 779 lives lost in 24 hours. a staggering number. the president expressing confidence that the u.s. has enough ventilators to respond to the needs of the states. saying it looks like the projections were right on ventilators, and some states are already well supplied. which we're very happy about, the president said.

the death toll now above 14,000. another 2,000 american lives lost since yesterday. and this animation put together by "the new york times," charting the number of deaths since the first death in washington state. the red there on the map, new york clearly the epicenter. you can really see all of the hot spots, the red from south florida to louisiana, detroit, chicago, of course washington state and california. so much of this country fighting this. tonight, we're on the front lines. in a new york city hospital, those recovery rooms turned into makeshift icus. st. john the divine cathedral, normally preparing for easter services, setting up hospital beds. much-needed supplies arriving in detroit. in miami, the convention center being turned into a hospital with 450 beds. and we continue to report on the urgent needs for american families. the lines for food, this one at a food bank in ft. lauderdale. and the new model that suggests

the peak in deaths may be in days. with indications that because of the sacrifices americans are making by staying home, social distancing is saving lives. the ultimate death toll could be lower than first warned, but experts say we cannot relax. what we've done so far to slow this is working. we begin tonight as we get through it all again with you, with tom llamas in new york. >> reporter: tonight, a rare glimpse at some of the toughest moments health care workers are facing every day in the war on the coronavirus. dr. daniel nekola, an anesthesiologist tasked with keeping critically ill patients from dying. >> we are face to face with these patients who are breathing rapidly, coughing, producing sputum. and we need to place the breathing tube to properly oxygenate them and keep them alive. >> reporter: and if that sounds difficult, there are even tougher moments. maimonides hospital in brooklyn bringing us into a makeshift icu. that's dr. nekola on the phone

informing someone their loved one, who they likely haven't seen for days, is not doing well. dr. nekola ripping off his mask. he needs a moment away from the chaos, away from the sadness. >> one of the parts of our job is delivering bad news to patients. honestly it's one of the more psychologically exhausting parts of the job. so telling someone that their family member may not make it, it really does, it takes a lot. >> reporter: a nurse telling us there's no doubt about the viciousness of the disease. >> i was one of the people that said, "this is fake. this is not real. this is gonna be fine. we'll get over it. this is the flu." it's not the flu. this is so far from the flu. >> reporter: death from covid-19 still so rampant. the death toll in new york state climbing to a record level. 779 in just the last day.

>> the bad news isn't just bad. the bad news is actually terrible. highest single day death toll yet. the number of deaths will continue to rise as those hospitalized for a longer period of time pass away. >> reporter: but still, every day there are encouraging signs. fewer new patients are heading to hospitals. and new hospitals are popping up including this one inside the country's largest gothic cathedral. this is st. john the divine and it looks completely different. first of all, you notice the rows of chairs are gone and that white hospital tent underneath the easter decorations. remember, they were getting ready for holy week. the plan is to have 10 to 20 hospital tents stretching all through here, right up to the high altar. and in another corner of the church, we see this. the chapel, hospital beds spread out everywhere. >> the cathedral has always been a place for spiritual healing. and now it's being used as a

place for physical healing. >> reporter: the virus takiing devastating toll on workers on the front lines. in new york, 41 transit workers killed, 1,500 infected with the virus. melody aravena's husband rolando was a communications field technician sent to a new york hospital to help prepare for the surge. a week later, he was sick. >> if he had to die to save other people's lives, you know, i'm going to try to make amends with that. >> reporter: rolando passing away on his twin daughters' 10th birthday. melody remembering their last words to each other on facetime. >> he just looked at me and he said, "mel, i never knew a love like this before. and i love you so much." >> reporter: in the wake of so much loss, signs of hope that social distancing is working. the university of washington now projecting a lower national death toll over the coming months. 60,415 deaths by august 4th.

deaths peaking on april 12th. >> what's really important is that people don't turn these early signs of hope into releasing from the 30 days to stop the spread. it's really critical. and you can see the delay, so if people start going out again and socially interacting, we could see a very acute second wave very early. >> reporter: but around the country, hot spots still growing in places like washington, d.c., and baltimore, louisiana, chicago, detroit, and pennsylvania. florida, which issued its stay at home order weeks after other states, is now seeing a surge in cases. the governor announcing they are turning their convention center in miami beach into the area's third field hospital. >> tom with us again tonight. i know you're inside the cathedral of st. john the divine. it's holy week, normally they would be preparing for easter. instead, preparing for the beds. and now

>> reporter: yes, and you can see the white hospital tent. this just went up today. underneath the easter decorations, we see a lot of things on this job. but that field hospital in central park and now this, these are things you just think you would never see in new york city. but it speaks to the times that we're living in. i asked the reverend what he would want patients to know. he says i will tell them we're praying for you and we're going to take care of you. >> tom, thank you. of course, the toll on american families in this country. workers risking their lives on the front lines, from hospitals, to supermarkets, to mailmen and women. and with at least 10 million americans out of work, applying for unemployment, the long lines for food. as we reported, the new numbers also show the terrible toll on african-americans. minorities are being hit especially hard. here's steve osunsami tonight. >> reporter: outside this miami

area unemployment office is more proof tonight that covid-19 is ruining families. more than 10 million americans are out of work and that number will rise. there was very little social distancing here tuesday. they were more worried about how they're going to feed their children. >> we had a glut of people show up way too early. we've given out hundreds and hundreds of applications. but now we're printing up hundreds and hundreds more. >> reporter: it's no wonder that 80% of americans feel things will only get worse. at this food pantry in ft. lauderdale, the lines were even longer. >> right now i haven't worked in two weeks, bh n at >>e lines st as long as people waited for food near pittsburgh on monday. it is with a heavy heart tonight that the family of cheryl catron shares that covid-19 robbed them of their sister on friday night. she worked at a police station in suburban atlanta. in detroit, hearts are breaking

for the family of vincent barber. he and his wife latreesa were just married in october. she thinks he got sick after a haircut. >> i'm watching people who are not taking this seriously. they're partying. they're visiting everybody. and i lost the love of my life because he went to go get a haircut. >> reporter: authorities across the country are now underlining that black and brown americans have more to fear from both the virus and the shutdown meant to fight it. and tonight, new numbers. experts share that only 1 in 5 latino workers can work safely from home. and the cdc tonight is saying that while black americans make up 18% percent of the u.s. population, they were 33% of all coronavirus hospitalizations in the month of march. >> we have known literally forever that diseases like diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and asthma are disproportionately afflicting the minority populations, particularly the african-americans. >> reporter: at those food pantries across the country, the lines are filled with hope and thanks.

>> this is very good, awesome, good. >> reporter: each box a small bit of rescue. >> steve, you hear from so many families, how grateful they are for this food. we really need to support our food banks. and we know that many families are waiting for the stimulus checks. >> reporter: those checks can't come fast enough, david. and the treasury is saying that americans waiting for a stimulus check by direct deposit will see them hit their bank accounts starting next week. but if you're waiting for a check in the mail, it could take at least a month or so. >> steve, thank you. we'll turn now to the abc news reporting tonight that american intelligence officials warned the trump administration as far back as late november that coronavirus could be a cataclysmic event. that ultimately ended up in the president's daily briefing. what did they know and when, and what was being said publicly?

here's jonathan karl tonight. >> reporter: abc news has learned u.s. intelligence agencies were warning way back in november that an out-of-control disease was sweeping through china. the dire warning was detailed in a report by the military's national center for medical intelligence. as recently as two days ago, president trump said nobody saw the warning. >> this came out of nowhere. nobody would have ever thought a thing like this could have happened. >> reporter: the november intelligence report determined the virus was changing patterns of life in china and posing a threat to u.s. forces in asia. "analysts concluded it could be a cataclysmic event," a source familiar with the report tells abc news, adding the defense intelligence agency, the pentagon's joint staff, and the white house were briefed multiple times. george stephanopoulos asked the defense secretary about the warnings. >> did the pentagon receive an intelligence assessment on covid in china last november, from the national center for medical intelligence of dia?

>> i can't recall, george, but we have many people that watch this closely. >> reporter: by early january, sources tell abc news, the information was included in the president's daily intelligence brief. but later that month, the president said the threat was under control. >> we have it totally under control. it's one person coming in from china, and we have it under control. it's going to be just fine. >> reporter: tonight, the president responded to the abc news report. >> when did you first learn about the intelligence? and could you have acted on it then? >> i learned -- when i learned about the gravity about it, sometime just prior to closing the country to china. and when we closed up the flights coming from china and various other elements. and then as you know we closed up to europe. i don't know exactly. but i'd like to see the information. >> reporter: abc news reached out to the pentagon throughout the reporting on this story. we have not yet received an official response. >> and when you have it, you'll pass it along. jon, thank you.

overseas in wuhan, china, they've reopened the city. but with a new normal. and what, if anything, does it show about what life could be like in america once we get through this? here's ian pannell. >> reporter: tonight, 76 days later, wuhan ends its lockdown. this is the moment when the barriers to the city where this global pandemic began are finally removed. railways reopening, flights resuming, and residents are finally free to do that most simple of things, walk the streets once more. about china's numbers for infections and deaths, but this is still an important day. and in honor of health care workers who saved the city, a light show, projecting their faces onto the skyline. but as china cheers, europe grieves. britain suffering its worst day, with 938 deaths and the peak still ahead. and its leader still in the hospital. >> the prime minister remains in

intensive care, where his condition is improving. i can also tell you that he has been sitting up in bed and engaging positively with the clinical team. >> reporter: so boris johnson is in hospital for yet another night. the mood music seems fairly positive, but like so many other patients, he's not out of the woods yet. >> ian, thank you. and here at home, amid the pandemic, the race for president. 209 days until the election. bernie sanders has now dropped out of the race. joe biden will be the democratic nominee. here's mary bruce. >> reporter: bernie sanders dropping out today, telling supporters victory was "virtually impossible." >> i wish i could give you better news, but i think you know the truth. >> reporter: sanders' path to the nomination had become ineas since joe biden's big super tuesday comeback. and as the coronavirus crisis grew, so did the questions.

>> this feels a little bit like it did when you didn't come out when hillary clinton was clearly -- >> well -- >> -- the person folks were going for. can you explain why you're still in the race? >> well, one of the reasons -- that's not quite accurate. i worked as hard as i could for hillary clinton. >> reporter: today, sanders gave in. >> i cannot in good conscience continue to mount a campaign that cannot win and which would interfere with the important work required of all of us in this difficult hour. >> reporter: joe biden is already looking ahead. today he announced he will have a plan in place to vet potential running mates by the end of the month. asked if he would consider announcing his pick in june, he said that's not a bad idea. >> and he's already said he will choose a woman. mary, thank you. when we come back, dr. jen ashton on a possible new treatment that got our attention today.

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your questions, as always. and dr. jen ashton, back tonight. jen, hope today for a potential new treatment? >> exactly, it's a drug called eidd 2801. it's a pill that blocks the coronavirus from attaching to lung cells in test tubes. it could be used to treat and prevent covid-19, and it is set to start clinical trials in humans this spring. >> not a moment too soon. jen, thank you. when we come back, a note about our own loss here at abc news. when we come back, a note abou r own loss here at abc news. concerts. to help our communities when they come back together, respond to the 2020 census now. spend a few minutes online today to impact the next 10 years of healthcare, infrastructure and education. go to 2020census.gov and respond today to make america's tomorrow brighter.

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one is watching out for your money, when you're not. what's in your wallet? finally, singer and songwriter john prine, lost to the virus, but honored tonight. ♪ ♪ make me an angel ♪ that flies >> reporter: beloved singer and songwriter john prine, performing his song "angels from montgomery" with bonnie raitt. raitt once said john prine's music cuts right to the heart of things, as pure and simple as rain. ♪ ♪ that i can hold on to ♪ >> reporter: john prine was born in maywood, illinois. he was an army veteran and a mailman before turning to music.

his lyrics have always landed, but especially now. his charming video, "when i get to heaven." >> when i get to heaven, i'm going to shake god's hand. thank him for more blessings than one man can stand. then i'm going to get a guitar, and start a rock and roll band. >> reporter: then he sings. ♪ ♪ i'm going to get a cocktail, vodka and ginger ale ♪ ♪ i'm gonna smoke a cigarette that is nine miles long ♪ ♪ i'm going to kiss that pretty girl ♪ >> reporter: tonight, bruce springsteen tweeting, "he was a true national treasure and a songwriter for the ages. we send our love and prayers to his family." ♪ >> i'll see you back here tomorrow. good night. i'm laura anthony.

an iconic east bay wildlife center is still serving its community, while also trying to make sure it survives. i'm melanie woodrow. 39 million critically needed n95 masks for health care workers are now at the center of a suspected federal fraud investigation. if you have got a large supply of ppe, santa clara county wants to know about it. abc7 news at 6:00 starts now. >> now your health, your safety, this is abc7 news. >> good evening and thank you for joining us tonight. i'm ama daetz live from my home. >> and i'm dan ashley. new at 6:00, an update on a cluster of coronavirus deaths at an east bay nursing facility. six residents of the gateway care and rehabilitation center in hayward have died from coronavirus. dozens more have tested positive. abc7 news reporter jr stone is live with the details tonight. jr? >> well, dan, very sad news out here in hayward this evening as we talk about those six deaths.

now, there have been 59 covid-19 cases at this facility, and that includes patients and also staff members. as i step out of the way, you can look off and see this facility here. we have seen employees going in and out of this location all day long. as you look at this facility, keep in mind, now according to family member and one family member in particular of a patient, those stays here have been in isolation for a week and three days. 59 covid-19 cases, 35 of those cases involve patients, and 24 involve staff members. six of those who died were patients here as well. we spoke with jaime pitino, who is a union city councilmember. his grandmother emma is a patient here. he came to visit her after he learned through the news that six patients had died, not just one. here is what pitino had to say. >> it's just hard because i want to know who the hell is running the place over here. because no one's told us. we had to find out through you